A Kovalev was the first russian penguin who absolutely dazzled me & the crowds. In 99-00, he must have had 6 HT... In 99, it was Kovy who scared #1 seeded devils into a huge play-off upset. Jaromir sealed the deal in game six.All the best to my favorite moonwalker! a goal from mario's return game~ over cujo's short side.

I Just posted in NHR, didnt see this. He was one of my favorites as well. I was at the moonwalk game after getting awesome $20 student rush tickets. Another of his favorite goals of mine I saw was in 98 Game 6 vs Toronto, he just kept the puck in the zone then skated to the top of the far circle and put a laser of a snap shot into a square between the goalies left shoulder and the corner post that was no bigger than the size of the puck. Just so so smooth.

DudeMan2766 wrote:I Just posted in NHR, didnt see this. He was one of my favorites as well. I was at the moonwalk game after getting awesome $20 student rush tickets. Another of his favorite goals of mine I saw was in 98 Game 6 vs Toronto, he just kept the puck in the zone then skated to the top of the far circle and put a laser of a snap shot into a square between the goalies left shoulder and the corner post that was no bigger than the size of the puck. Just so so smooth.

So sorry, I was waiting to see if somebody posted news about Kovalev making it official.

*when he was with the canadiens, i enjoyed watching Brooks and him battle.

HOF Talent, not a HOF career. Not by any stretch of the imagination. It's not even about rings, he could have gotten 4 rings, he'd still be pretty far out.

That's pretty much my sentiment as well. It's not an easy one to make, but you could argue that Kovalev was the most talented player to ever play the game. His puck skills were obscene. The production never matched the talent.

He ranks highly in technical skill, sure. There's more to "skill" than just that of course, which, as you aptly note, contributed to the lack of production.

Alexander Mogilny the same way before him, Alexander Semin the same way after him. World class technical skills, lots lacking in the rest of their game. Semin is by far the most complete player of the trio, that tells you all you need to know.

mikey287 wrote:He ranks highly in technical skill, sure. There's more to "skill" than just that of course, which, as you aptly note, contributed to the lack of production.

Alexander Mogilny the same way before him, Alexander Semin the same way after him. World class technical skills, lots lacking in the rest of their game. Semin is by far the most complete player of the trio, that tells you all you need to know.

Without a doubt, which is why I would argue about his skill level, but not about his place in hockey history. He's light years away from ever being considered one of the best players in NHL history. There's so many elements of the game outside of pure skill that factor into creating great players and its in those areas that Kovy was lacking.

Regardless of that, watching his Warrior Hockey videos on Youtube is always impressive.

I remember hearing the story that he would bore out the center of pucks and fill them with lead. Thats what he used to practice with and after so long a regular puck felt like nothing, thats how we could fire the puck so effortlessly. As a kid I always wanted to do that after I heard it but ever had the resources lol

HOF Talent, not a HOF career. Not by any stretch of the imagination. It's not even about rings, he could have gotten 4 rings, he'd still be pretty far out.

Fair enough. I don't claim to a be history guy (admire those who are). Besides significantly more playoff success, what's the difference between him and say, Nieuwendyk, for example. Was Kovy just that much worse in other aspects of the game?

Serious question. I guess he is AlMo, but I think of him as a way better all-around player. Maybe just biased.

Always one of my favorites. He began this season with three points on opening day, and I thought maybe we'd be able to enjoy watching him play a little bit longer, but it was not to be. Good luck Alex!!